This project started out with the goal of making
a replacement fairing for my Vision recumbent as I had a couple of crashes
with the thermoformed fairing and I thought it might not survive another one.
The first attempt for the Vison fairing was a bit too narrrow and I was playing
with the idea of having a recess in the front of the fairing to make it easier
to see the road. The second was an improvement but did not offer much more
protection.

The reason I was using the fairing is that on
my ride to work I start out on a hill and the first few minutes are normally
quite cool with the wind chill and then moderate terrain where one can warm
up a bit. I was thinking of building a more enclosed fairing to help with
this issue and as a result got interested in velomobiles. Then, what finally
got me going on this was that we bought a trike, a Hase Kettwiesel, which
could make a reasonable base for the more extensive fairing.

The first attempt at the fairing for the Kettwiesel
has been quite instructive. It looks as if we can build a fairing that will
weigh in well under 20 pounds if vacuum bagged using just fiberglass materials
and some core. If we change the laminate to grapite/kevlar/core and vacuum
infuse it a weight in the 10-15 pound range should be possible. The first
prototype fairing weighs 16.2 pounds but it needs to be a bit longer in the
nose to completely enclose the front wheel and have a bit more volume at the
back to carry a bit more gear; and it could be a bit more streamlined). The
laminate used for this part was not stiff enough so more material was added
by hand laminating some stiffeners in place. With a more optimized laminate
(some core in the flat areas) all bagged at once, a bit thinner gel coat,
lighter rim around the opening, even with the extra surface area at either
end a weigh around 16 pounds is still possible. This would probably be strong
enough to survive everyday use and not be too fragile. There is room inside
the fairing to either strap in gear bags beside/in front of the rider and
behind the seat. Rigid moulded in panniers beside and in front of the cylist
are possible but would add a bit of weight.

Jan on her trike with the first prototype fairing

First prototype front view, note the rim cut away to allow the
opening to be bigger for getting in and out

Steve getting in

Closing fairing

The above picture shows the top half mould with all and material
in the mould and the nylon bag sealed on the mould.

The bag in opened and the vinyl ester resin is introduced under
the bag, then the bag is sealed and vacuum is then applied

Vacuum applied, moving the resin under the bag to help the vacuum
saturate the laminate with resin. We build our kayaks using this process and
have laminates that are 60-70% fibre content. This is the optimal fibre/resin
content for FRP laminates. We can incorporate some of the new core materials
meant for resin infusion using this process and can do it in a single laminating
step resulting in very stiff light parts at moderate prices. Only epoxy prepregs
offer better results but typically cost several times as much to make.

Finished part just after bagging, one must maintain vacuum until
the resin has set.